Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

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Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain was born on June 3, 1933, in the village of Al Jasra in Bahrain. He was the son of Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, Hakim of Bahrain and Mouza bint Hamad al-Khalifa, one of his father’s three wives.

Isa had one full brother and one half-brother and six half-sisters.

Isa’s full brother:

Isa’s half-brother from his father’s wife Latifa bint Ibrahim al-Khalifa:

Isa’s six half-sisters:

  • Thajba bint Salman al-Khalifa
  • Fatima bint Salman Al Khalifa
  • Maryam bint Salman al-Khalifa
  • Aisha bint Salman al-Khalifa
  • Sheikha bint Salman al-Khalifa
  • Nura bint Salman al-Khalifa

On May 8, 1949, Isa married his cousin Hessa bint Salman al-Khalifa (1933 – 2009) and the couple had five sons and four daughters:

  • Sheikh Hamad bin Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain (born 1950), Wife 1 Sabika bint Ibrahim al-Khalifa, had three sons and one daughter; Wife 2 Sheia bint Hassan al-Khrayyesh Al Ajmi, had two sons; Wife 3 Hessa bint Faisal Muhammad Shreim al-Marri, had one son and two daughters; Wife 4 Binh bint Jabr al-Nuaimi, had one son and two daughters
  • Sheikh Rashed bin Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa (? – 2011), married ?, had seven sons
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, married Sheika Kholoud al-Khalifa, had two sons and one daughter
  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, married Sheikha Haya bint Muhammad al-Khalifa, had three sons and one daughter
  • Sheikh Ali bin Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa (born 1955), married Sheikha Anoud bint Muhammad al-Khalifa, had three sons and one daughter
  • Sheikha Munira bint Isa al-Khalifa, married Sheikh Salman bin Muhammad al-Khalifa, had five sons and one daughter
  • Sheikha Maryam bint Isa al-Khalifa, married Sheikh Ali bin ‘Abdullah al-Khalifa, had two sons and three daughters
  • Sheikha Shaikha bint Isa al-Khalifa married Sheikh Duaij bin Hamad al-Khalifa had two sons and three daughters
  • Sheikha Noura bint Isa al-Khalifa (? – 2018), married and divorced Sheikh Isa bin Ali bin Hamad al-Khalifa, had two sons
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Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain and his son and heir Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, the UK in 1968, after the Commissioning Parade, where the Hamid  was commissioned into the Bahrain Royal Guard

The Kingdom of Bahrain is an island country in the Persian Gulf, situated between the Qatar peninsula and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia. In the 1800s, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom and remained so until independence was declared in 1971. The House of Khalifa has reigned in Bahrain since 1783.

Isa became Hakim of Bahrain upon the death of his father on November 2, 1961. On August 15, 1971, Bahrain declared its independence from the United Kingdom and signed a new treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom. Isa changed the title of the ruler of Bahrain to the Emir of Bahrain and appointed his brother Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa as the first Prime Minister of the newly sovereign country, the Emirate of Bahrain.

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Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip with Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain, following dinner at the Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama, Bahrain in 1979

In 1973, Isa introduced a moderate form of parliamentary democracy, and men (but not women) were allowed to vote in parliamentary elections. However, parliamentary democracy was short-lived. In August 1975, however, Isa dissolved Parliament because it refused to pass the State Security Law of 1974 which caused a period of political suppression with the torture of political prisoners and human rights violations. In 2001, Isa’s son Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, who had succeeded him as Emir of Bahrain in 1999, abolished the State Security Law, declared Bahrain a constitutional monarchy following a national referendum, and changed the title of the ruler of Bahrain to King of Bahrain.

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain, during a visit to the Pentagon in 1998; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 6, 1999, at the Al-Sakhir Palace in Sakhir, Bahrain, 65-year-old Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain died of a heart attack just minutes after concluding a meeting with the United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Isa had suffered heart problems in the past. In 1998, he visited Cleveland, Ohio to undergo heart treatment.

Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain was buried at the Al-Rifa’a Cemetery with crowds of people showering the 12-mile funeral route with flowers in a traditional display of mourning. Isa’s son and successor Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, now Emir of Bahrain, and Isa’s brother Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, attended the funeral which was held within hours of Isa’s death following the Islamic custom of quick burial. Many of the 10,000 mourners at the royal cemetery pushed forward to help members of the royal family carry the wooden bier on which Isa’s cloth-wrapped body was carried from an ambulance to his grave.

Although he had dissolved Parliament in 1975 and took on absolute power, during Isa’s 38 years as Emir, Bahrain was transformed into a modern nation and became an important financial center in the Persian Gulf area. President Bill Clinton called him “a good friend of peace” and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan described him as “a force for stability” in the region.

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Works Cited

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. عيسى بن سلمان آل خليفة. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%89_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A2%D9%84_%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9> [Accessed 3 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isa_bin_Salman_Al_Khalifa> [Accessed 3 August 2020].
  • Nytimes.com. 2020. Bahrain Emir Dies In Palace After Meeting On U.S. Arms. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/07/world/bahrain-emir-dies-in-palace-after-meeting-on-us-arms.html?ref=oembed> [Accessed 3 August 2020].
  • Royalark.net. 2020. Bahrain Royal Genealogy. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalark.net/Bahrain/bahrain10.htm> [Accessed 3 August 2020].
  • Tulsa World. 1999. Bahrain’s Emir Dies Suddenly. [online] Available at: <https://tulsaworld.com/archive/bahrains-emir-dies-suddenly/article_72c18e9d-2f63-5b15-a2a5-31a932fb68a7.html> [Accessed 3 August 2020].